


A Spiritual Connection

by MortonMurphy



Series: Turnabout Trigger Happy Havoc [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crossover, Friendship, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Two Shot, daiya is dead unfortunately, female pronouns for Chihiro only because Maya doesn't know he's a guy yet, hiro and leon are bros, i feel like Maya and Hiro would just vibe okay, i wasn't going to tag ishimondo at first but i realized it wasnt even subtle so might as well, male pronouns in Mondo's pov, maya gets all the appreciation and food she wants, maya really wants her free burgers, occurs after case 3-3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:19:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MortonMurphy/pseuds/MortonMurphy
Summary: Maya's quest for a burger leads her to meet a fellow spiritual believer who asks to use her Ultimate Spirit Medium talents to help one of his classmates reconnect with someone they lost. A simple burger leads to new frienships and Maya's talent helping a certain ultimate reach someone he'd never thought he'd see again.
Relationships: (Highly Implied), Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo
Series: Turnabout Trigger Happy Havoc [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964647
Comments: 7
Kudos: 66





	1. Burgers and Tarot Cards

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is work #3, and it's going to be a two-parter! This will be relevant to the eventual turnabout, and I honestly just really wanted to write this, okay?! Don't judge me too hard for my garbage writing.

Entering the restaurant, Maya Fey had only one thing on her mind: burgers. The current case she’d helped Nick with made her hungry. After all, she’d spent it in Tres Bien as a waitress in that cutesy uniform to help Nick gather clues… and to eat. Well, that was the idea, except that Chef Armstrong was actually a terrible cook and Tres Bien was gross. However, she could always count on burgers to be tasty. 

What was the name of this place again? She could never remember, but she was always bugging Nick for burgers, the place notwithstanding. This was the latest burger joint she’d picked out, and of course, Nick couldn’t come this time, saying he was too tired from finishing the case. Maya had merely taken a few bills from his suit pocket, ignoring Nick’s protests, and skipped out of the office before he could stop her. Now, she was in line for what was hopefully going to be beef bliss, that is, if the two guys ahead of her in line could stop arguing and just order. 

The first guy had spiky red hair and goatee to match, (of course, those spikes paled in comparison to Nick’s), wore a white button up with a skull on it, and the second guy possessed a wild mane of hair, tan skin, and he held a crystal ball in his hand. That was interesting, Maya thought. Could he have some connection to the Kurain Channeling scene? Well, that seemed a bit unlikely, as she’d never seen him before, and he was a male. She conspicuously leaned closer to them, trying to overhear their conversation, her hunger temporarily forgotten. 

“Dude,” the red haired one started, “I don’t think your stupid tarot card readings are going to help!” 

“Hey!” The other one countered. “They are so not stupid, and it’s not like I see anything else working! It’s been a week! You going to show him how to hit a home run or something? Or how about your quote, original new songs?! C’mon, Leon, you’ve gotta give the readings a chance!”   
  


Leon put his head in his hands. “Dude, pretty sure all that spirit stuff isn’t what he needs right now. I mean, you’re hardly right anyway-”

“You are spiritually inclined, I knew it!” Maya clamped a hand over her mouth as the two guys whipped around to face her. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Surprisingly, only Leon looked angry at being eavesdropped on, but the crystal ball guy looked happy to be recognized.

“Yup, Yasuhiro Hagakure, ultimate clairvoyant!” He grinned and stuck out his hand. “What’s your name, you a fan? Nevertheless, you can just call me Hiro.”

Maya grinned and eagerly shook his hand. “Oh, I’m not a fan, I have no idea who you are!” 

Hiro’s shoulders slumped and Leon burst out laughing. “You really thought you have fans! Dude, palm reading isn’t even a sport!” Leon turned to Maya. “I’m Leon Kuwata, the ultimate baseball star!” 

“I’m Maya Fey, and I don’t watch baseball!” 

Now, it was Hiro’s turn to laugh as Leon grumbled something under his breath. Still smiling, Maya realized something a bit weird, that they’d both introduced themselves as ultimates. To be fair, they both seemed a bit eccentric. She remembered the case she helped Nick with a few months ago, where the fraudulent detective Luke Atmey always introduced himself as an ace. It could be a similar thing, though they seemed much less pompous that that guy had been. 

“Why are you guys ultimates? What does that mean?” She asked.

“You’ve seriously never heard of the ultimates before?” Leon looked at her strangely. “Hey, you do realize that it’s a bit cold out to be wearing only those weird robes, right?”

Before Maya could respond to him, Hiro’s eyes flashed with excitement, and a grin stretched across his face. “You’re a spirit medium! Those are your robes, and the symbol on your necklace is a magatama! I’ve heard about what you guys can do, well, you girls actually!” 

Maya beamed at him. “Yeah, I am! The reason I was interested in your conversation was because I saw your crystal ball, and I thought you’re versed in spirits as well!”

Hiro shook his head. “Nah, all I can do is predict the future… sometimes. Thirty percent accuracy. Oh, and that whole ultimate thing is the titles our school gave us. It means we’re the best at what we do!”

“So, there are a bunch more of you, uh, ultimate students?” 

Hiro crossed his arms. “Yup, sure are! There’s Sakura, the ultimate martial artist, Taka, ultimate moral compass, Kyoko, ultimate detective-”

“-I know her!” Maya shouted excitedly. The exhausted cashier, frustrated that none of the three even ordered, glared at them. “Sorry!” Maya blushed sheepishly. “Kyoko was at a crime scene I went to with Nick one time! I had no idea she went to your school!”

“She’s in our class,” Hiro said. “I wouldn’t say I know her super well, though. She and I hang out with different groups, and she doesn’t seem to believe in the effectiveness of my predictions.”

“She’s got a point, dude.” Leon stuck his hands in his pockets. “Since when has one of your readings come true?”

“Well, there was that one time where I told Sayaka that her microphone would lose power during her concert, and that happened!”

“That was two years ago, Hiro. I doubt-”

“Hey, Maya,” Hiro turned towards Maya, who was watching the two argue. “How about I give you a reading, right here? Free of charge, and if anything I say rings true, Leon here has to buy us all burgers!”

Leon shrugged. “I’ll take that bet, the odds are great you’ll be wrong. Seventy to thirty in fact.” He placed his hands confidently on his hips. “This bet is so good, Celeste would take it in a heartbeat. If you lose, you have to buy the burgers.”

Maya nodded, knowing that she couldn’t resist the possibility of a free burger. She could even pocket the money she’d taken from Nick, and just say she’d spent it. No, she’d give a little bit back, she decided. She couldn’t leave him totally in the cold. 

“I’m in!” The three stepped out of line, much to the chagrin of the cashier, and sat down in a booth at the corner of the restaurant. Hiro pulled a deck of cards, which Maya realized were tarot cards. Hiro began to shuffle them, and placed them in front of him. 

“Now, I am going to read your palm, and I will be able to guide that energy into my cards.” Hiro’s voice was a lot more calm and serious than it had been before, making Maya feel more assured than she had before. Up until this point, Hiro reminded her purely of Larry, a bit goofy and seemingly dim, but she’d liked him anyway. Now, he had a whole different persona, as if he was finally in his element. Even Leon stopped rolling his eyes to listen to him talk. 

Maya stuck out her palm and Hiro began to trace the lines in her palm and closed his eyes. Maya looked at Leon, who shrugged. Hiro then released Maya’s palm and selected three cards from his deck and put them face-down on the table. 

He flipped the first card. “Eight of Pentacles, upright. This means that you’re about to go through an apprenticeship of some kind. You have a spirit medium class or something?” 

Maya shook her head. “Not yet, at least. I’m supposed to be the master-”

“-called a mystic, right?” Hiro asked.

“Yes, but I’m not good enough yet. My cousin Pearl has been looking into some retreats or something. She hasn’t mentioned it in a while, though. Maybe she’s going to find something?” 

Hiro nodded. “Maybe.” 

“It’s not a definitive prediction,” Leon said. “Next.”

Hiro flipped over the second card. “The tower, reversed. This means you’re about to go through a personal change, or you’re going to avert a huge disaster!” Hiro dramatically hit the table, startling Leon and Maya. 

“Woah! Maybe I’ll be the person that solves the case for Nick, or I’ll dive in front of him as Godot hurls his coffee at him, and save his suit from another dry cleaning bill!”

“Who’s Nick?” Hiro’s hand hovered over the third card. 

“He’s a lawyer who’s taken care of me for years! He’s even defended me twice on the stand, and I assist him in his cases!”

“Hmm, maybe you and this… Nick, I can see a future where you… get married!”

“No way! Nick’s like my brother, and besides, he has this thing with-nevermind.” Maya bit back a grin, thinking of a certain red-suited prosecutor. 

“Well, this isn’t looking good for you, Hiro. You haven’t gotten a definitive thing right, and it looks like I’m not buying shit.” A smug grin overtook Leon’s face.

“Don’t listen to him, I want my burger!” Maya grinned at Hiro as a show of encouragement, she really wanted to see if he had some sort of spiritual connection. After all, thirty percent was better than nothing. 

Hiro closed his eyes, seemingly unfazed by Leon and flipped over the third card. “Three of swords, upright. You’ve experienced heartache, and you will experience more of it.” 

“Jesus dude, that’s dark.” Leon’s indifference was gone by this point, and he was fully engulfed in the reading. Maya looked at Hiro, her smile vanished.

“How did you know?” She asked, trying not to let her expression slip. 

“I was right? Oh, shit. As soon as I saw the card… I was actually kinda hoping I would be wrong. This card means bad stuff is in your future, and possibly in your past.” Hiro’s face was solemn, and the mood around the table dropped. 

“I-I lost my sister a few years ago, and I was the one who was accused of her murder. Nick helped me, but it was so hard, discovering my sister dead. I-I don’t want that to happen again! Does your vision say anything about who it’ll happen to?” Maya leaned over the table, desperately staring at Hiro “Me? Nick? Pearls?”

“Dude, Maya,” Hiro gently swept up the cards and placed them back into the deck. “You can’t live your life entirely according to the readings, y’know? I tell my clients that the readings should prepare you, but you shouldn’t be afraid all the time! I got some energy from you that a lot of good will happen to you too!” Hiro placed a hand on his crystal ball. “Trust me, on my honor as a totally legit clairvoyant.” 

Maya managed a light smile. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Someone has to be there for Nick and Pearls anyway! Besides, I already know that Leon owes me a burger now!” 

Leon groaned and got up from the booth and ambled up to the cashier, who rolled their eyes, surprised the group was even ordering at all at this point. 

Maya turned to look at Hiro, who was reshuffling his tarot cards and placing them in his jacket. Despite the reading being over, he still looked pensive. 

“According to the channeling techniques, you can communicate with your sister despite her death, right?” He finally asked.

Maya nodded. “I can channel her, and her spirit inhabits my body.”

“Wait, so you can temporarily, like, bring her back in a sense? She’s the one in control and talking?” 

Maya smiled and nodded again, and Hiro snapped his fingers and stood up in a hurry. “I’ve got it!” He looked at Maya eagerly. “Do you think you could do that, uh, channeling thing for me? Well, not for me exactly.”

Maya raised an eyebrow. “Who would I be channeling for, then?”

Hiro remained standing, and crossed his arms over his hands. “So, uh, you remember that conversation you overheard earlier between Leon and me?”

“Yeah, what about it? I already kinda forgot what you guys were arguing about.” Maya grinned sheepishly. 

“Well,” Hiro’s face grew serious. “A friend and classmate of ours, well he’s more friends with Leon than me, he just lost his brother. Apparently he lost him in some sort of motorcycle race or something. Point is, he’s seriously out of it. He won’t leave his room, and a bunch of us are getting really worried. We’ve tried so much to get him to not snap at us, or even just to answer his door-”

“-You told her about Mondo?!” Leon had made his way back over to the table and was now glaring at Hiro, with bags of burgers and fries in his hand. “We hardly know this girl, and that shit is personal!”

Hiro raised his hands. “Sorry, dude, but it’s fate! If she can channel Mondo’s brother, maybe talking to him one last time will be what he needs to finally start to get better! You told me my spirit and clairvoyance stuff wouldn’t help, but I know this will! C’mon dude! Please?”

Leon sighed, and put his head in his hands. “We don’t even know if she’s legit, and besides, why would she help us?” Leon turned to face a speechless Maya. “Sorry for bothering you, here’s your burger.”

Maya’s face shifted from confused to determined. “I want to help your friend.” Maya stood up and faced the two, clutching the bag with her burger. “I know what it’s like to lose a sibling, and if I could help someone going through that, what better use for channeling is there?! My channeling has helped me connect with Mia, my sister, so much!” 

Hiro gave Maya a thumbs up and grinned. “I knew you would help!” His face softened slightly. “I’m sorry about your sister, by the way.” 

“Yeah, uh, I’m sorry too.” Leon looked at the ground, avoiding Maya’s gaze. “I could tell, from the way you talked about this channeling stuff, it’s serious business, and it’s not like we have anything better to do for Mondo.”

“Hey, how are we going to even get Maya in the dorms?” Leon asked as the three stood up and began to leave the restaurant. “Pretty sure it’s students only.”

“Oh don’t worry, we’ll find a way, maybe Chihiro can hack the cameras for a bit or something!” 

“Who’s Chihiro?” Maya asked, as she began to open her bag and devour her burger. 

“Oh, uh, it’s not important,” Leon said. “They can’t hack the whole school anyway. We’ll just have to get creative, but we’ve done worse. Remember that one time with my whole baseball team-”

“-Are we going or what?” Maya said with a mouthful of burger. 

“Yeah, let’s go!” Hiro said, and the three finally exited the restaurant. “Oh, and the guy you’re channeling, his name is Daiya Oowada.” 

“Oh yeah, I have a picture from when Chihiro and I met him once with Mondo.” Leon took out his phone and showed Maya a picture. In the shot, a short girl was laughing as a boy with a rather ridiculous hairstyle was being put in a headlock by an older boy with similarly outlandish hair. The older boy was looking at the younger boy with the type of familial fondness that Maya only knew too well, the fondness of an older sibling. 

She remembered Mia, when she’d last visited her in the city, she’d given Maya a similar look when Maya scarfed down her weight in burgers, and ate half of Mia’s fries. Maya smiled sadly and handed the phone back to Leon. “As soon as we get to a quiet enough place, I’ll concentrate and reach out to him.”

The three continued on, where they got on a bus which had a stop a block away from Hope’s Peak. The three rode on as they ate their food in silence, Hiro and Leon occasionally stopping to gape at how fast Maya ate. Eventually, they reached their stop and climbed off. They walked for a few feet, and stopped in front of a large building. It eclipsed all the buildings surrounding it, and was gated off with the sign atop the gate reading: Hope’s Peak Academy. 

“You guys ready to sneak in? I can be super stealthy!” Maya grinned and poked Hiro in the ribs, who was distracted by his phone. 

“Dude, c’mon!” Hiro winced. He shook off the discomfort and grinned at Maya and Leon. “Don’t worry about the sneaking, you guys.” He waved his phone in his hands. “I explained the situation, and we’ve got backup.” He gestured behind Maya and Leon to three other students walking towards them. 

Maya smiled and waved when she saw Kyoko standing there, stoic as ever, and beside her was a boy with a brown hoodie and an uneasy expression, and a girl with a computer in her hands, who Maya recognized must be Chihiro. Kyoko’s eyes raised slightly at seeing Maya, and gave her a small wave, and the boy with the hoodie and Chihiro both gave Kyoko a puzzled look. Kyoko gave them a look back, seemingly saying “I’ll explain later.” 

Leon shook his head. “At this point, this better work.”

“Oh, I’ve looked into my crystal ball, and this plan is going to work.” Hiro held the crystal ball confidently in his hands. “Would the ultimate clairvoyant ever be wrong?”

  
  
  



	2. Sibling Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With some help from the Ultimate Spirit Medium Maya Fey, a grieving Mondo is reunited with his brother for a conversation beyond the grave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this actually took me way longer to write than I thought it would, but I wanted to make sure I did a good jon with it, so I hope you all enjoy! I honestly like this chapter a lot, and it might even be my favorite thing I've written. So far, at least.

“I can’t believe we actually made it!” Maya grinned at the ultimates as they caught their breath. It had been truly impressive, the way that Hiro, Leon, Kyoko, Makoto (whose name she’d just gotten from Kyoko), and Chihiro had worked together to simultaneously avoid the cameras in the hallways and walk in a way that shielded her from view of other students walking past the group. She suspected that Hiro’s hair did at least half the work in hiding her. 

“I am curious to see the,uh… spirit channeling.” Chihiro piped up. “You said your whole body changes?”

“Yeah, I’m going to look just like Daiya, but with my clothes and hair,” Maya explained. Chihiro nodded, but still looked puzzled. The group continued walking, and Maya glanced at the various dorms. Each dorm they passed had the nameplate of a student on it, along with a rather cute pixel drawing of them. As they neared their destination, Maya spotted a boy with spiky hair and a crisp, white school uniform anxiously pacing around the hall, and a blue-haired girl wearing a school uniform (who looked oddly familiar) placing a concerned hand on his shoulder. When he looked up from his pacing she noticed his red eyes were rather puffy and his thick eyebrows furrowed into a glare upon meeting her gaze. 

“Shit,” Leon swore. “Taka’s not going to like this. Hopefully Sayaka will-”

As if on cue, the boy-Taka-stomped over to where they were standing. “What are you five doing? Who are you?” He pointed accusingly at Maya. “Strangers are not allowed in here without clearance from the headmaster!” 

Hiro stepped forward. “Taka, dude. Calm down. This is Maya, and she’s a spirit medium. She’s going to use the Kurain Channeling Technique which involves-”

“-Hagakure, is this what you’ve been researching instead of the study materials I have been giving you?” Taka crossed his arms disapprovingly, and turned towards Maya. “Ma’am, as the ultimate moral compass and enforcer of rules in Hope’s Peak I must ask you to-”

“-I brought her here to help Mondo!” Hiro burst out. “She can help him see his brother again.”

"Seriously?" Sayaka raised an eyebrow and looked at Maya quizically. 

Taka’s glare softened, and he glanced back towards the room he’d just been pacing by. “He still won’t talk to me. I just want to help. He’s my kyoudai, and I hate that he’s in pain!” His posture sagged, and Maya realized that he must’ve just been crying. His shoulders slumped, betraying his otherwise rigid posture. Based on the pitying glances from the others, they must’ve realized that as well. “However-”

“-Ishimaru,” Kyoko stepped forward. “I know that you’ve been trying to help Mondo all week, and you feel like you’re a bad friend because it hasn’t worked. Trust us when we say we want to help him too. At least let us try this, and if it doesn’t work…” Kyoko paused and crossed her arms. “You can give Hagakure detention, because this was his idea.” 

Surprisingly, Hiro didn’t seem phased by this. “Yeah,” He nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” 

Taka looked taken aback by Hiro’s willingness, and he nodded. “I’d do anything to help him.” He looked sadly at Hiro, and his brows furrowed. “Please be right, Hiro.” 

Hiro nodded solemnly. “You’re doing the right thing, Taka.” He placed a hand on the other boy’s back and led him gently to where the others were standing, and Sayaka took her cue to follow them. He looked towards Maya. “Alright, we’re ready. Let’s do this.”

******************************************************************************

This was the worst fucking week of Mondo Oowada’s life. One stupid bike race ruined his life. One dumb, spur-of-the-moment decision to go on the wrong side of the road killed his brother. It was all his fault. If only he hadn’t been so desperate to prove himself to the gang, or even just to Daiya himself, that he was capable of leading the Crazy Diamonds, that he was strong enough. Now, he knew he wasn’t strong. 

He was weak. He was too weak to tell the gang the truth about what happened that night. He was too weak to even come out of his room and face his classmates, many of whom came by at various times during the week to try and talk to him, ask him how he was, drop off food, or even ask to come in. Of course, he hadn’t responded, waiting until they left to eat the food they left for him, or even open the door. He couldn’t let any of them see him like this. His eyes were puffy and red from crying, with remnants of eyeliner caking his tired face. His hair had long since unraveled from its usual pompadour and he hadn’t had the will to really change out of his clothes in a few days, just content to drape his jacket over his dirty undershirt. He’d honestly thought he’d managed to ward off most of his classmates with his unresponsiveness. Except Taka. 

His kyoudai hadn’t wavered in standing outside his door, either to talk to him about the exploits of their classmates, ask him how he’s doing, if he could come in, or even just sliding homework under his door and proceeding to sit outside the door and discuss his answers. Mondo never responded to Taka, but not because he found him annoying. Finding Taka annoying was a thing of the past for Mondo, the right word now being dedicated. Taka had a way of transferring his passion and zeal to others, making them genuinely feel like they were destined for greatness like he’d say, and he often used that to encourage his classmates to study (which they sometimes did), or pursue their talents. Truthfully, Taka made Mondo feel confident and special, like he truly believed that Mondo could do anything he put his mind to. It made his heart soar whenever Taka would wax poetic about how much he believed in Mondo, how strong and brave he thought the latter was, which was why as much as Mondo wanted to talk to Taka, to have Taka comfort him, he couldn’t let his kyoudai see him like this. It would prove Taka wrong, that Mondo wasn’t someone to be believed in like the rest of the ultimates. He was just a pathetic weakling that got his own brother killed. He could practically see Taka’s look of contempt and disgust if he could see the disheveled state Mondo was in. After everything that had just happened, Mondo knew he couldn’t lose Taka too, even if his heart broke even more after hearing Taka’s muffled sobs outside his door just a few minutes ago. Come to think of it, where had he-

-A resounding “WHAT THE FUCK?!” echoed throughout the hallway. Mondo raised an eyebrow, recognizing the voice to be Leon’s. A chorus of “Shhhh!” came swiftly after, and Mondo was tempted to peak his head outside of his door. He could hear muffled voices now, and he pressed his ear against the door, only to hear footsteps rapidly approaching his room. 

“Mondo? Kyoudai?” Taka announced as he knocked on the door. “I-I know you haven’t wanted to talk to any of us, and I apologize once again if I am annoying you, but there is someone here you must see!” 

Mondo didn’t respond, and started to scootch away from the door. 

“Little bro!” Mondo froze on the spot, as someone else pounded on the door. “Your friends are tryin’ to comfort you! Besides, I thought you’d want to see me!” It couldn’t be. No way, no way, no fucking way. Mondo flung open the door desperately, and sure enough, there was his brother. 

Mondo’s jaw hit the floor and all he could manage was a small, “What the fuck are you wearing?” 

Daiya looked puzzledly at the too-small purple and white robes that adorned him, the pearl necklace around his neck, the sandals on his feet, and the rather long and rather girly hair cascaded down his shoulders. “I actually don’t know-” 

“-It’s traditional clothing for spirit mediums under the Kurain channeling technique, dude.” Hiro stepped out from Daiya’s left side. “I, uh, brought a spirit medium Leon and I met in a burger place to help you talk to your brother, because well, you wouldn’t talk to anyone else-”

“-She just fucking transformed, dude!” Leon butted in. “You should’ve seen it! I mean, Maya, that’s her name, was a totally normal looking girl a few seconds ago, then she just became your brother and completely changed! It was crazy! Chihiro, back me up!”

The programmer nodded, looking up from the computer he was busily typing in. “It was… quite a sight. I actually wish I’d gotten it on video. I’m adding the encounter to Alter Ego’s knowledge base as we speak!” Chihiro turned towards Mondo and shook his head. “This isn’t about that! Mondo, we’ve all been so worried. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

“Yes, kyoudai!” Mondo’s face turned scarlet with embarrassment as Taka burst in. “Please, let us help you. Is this okay? I mean, with your brother and-” Taka trailed off, realizing he was starting to overwhelm Mondo. His normally sharp face was soft with worry, and Mondo still couldn’t look at him. 

Mondo struggled to speak, but luckily Makoto stepped forward. “Guys, I think we should leave him with his brother for a bit. They probably have a lot to talk about.” Makoto shot Mondo a small smile as he, Kyoko, and Sayaka (had those two always been there?) collectively led Hiro, Leon, Chihiro, and Taka out of the room. 

“I like your friends, little bro.” Daiya casually leaned against the wall, still fumbling with his robes. “Ugh, these damn robes are just too small! Couldn’t this chick eat a few more hamburgers or something, at least be a bit bigger?”

“Y-you’re alive…” Mondo sputtered. “H-how?”

“Like your friend said, I’m being channeled I guess. He told me I’m just going to be here to talk to you for a bit, but I’m not alive or anything. I’m here to talk some sense into ya. You can’t go on like this, Mondo.” Daiya gestured to the clutter that was overwhelming Mondo’s room, and gazed sadly at Mondo himself, clearly worse for wear. 

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that, huh?” Mondo suddenly snapped, his face contorting with shame and anger. “How am I supposed to be okay after I fuckin’ killed ya! I was reckless and stupid, and ya had to save me again! I’ll never be good enough to keep the gang together, and-”

“Mondo, stop!” Dayia’s expression was pained as he looked at his little brother, desperately trying to hold back tears. “It wasn’t your fault, ya know. I never blamed ya, and I still don’t. It was a stupid mistake, but I’d never blame ya. We’re brothers.” 

The anger in Mondo’s face evaporated, but his shoulders remained slumped, and he avoided Daiya’s gaze. “How could ya even face me? I’d blame me. It’s only a matter of time before the gang realizes I’m nothin’ like ya. I’m not strong like ya were.”

“Look at me, Mondo.” Daiya cupped Mondo’s face in his hand and lifted it to look him square in the eyes. Mondo’s eyes pricked with tears, and he desperately tried to bite them back as his brother’s concerned eyes bore into him. “You’re the strongest fuckin’ guy I know. We went through so much growin’ up, and I know if anyone could handle bein’ the leader of the gang, it was you. I mean, you’re the ultimate biker gang leader, right? You got into this fancy pants school, and you’re still keepin’ the gang together!” Daiya pulled Mondo into a crushing hug. “I’m so proud of ya, and nothing could ever stop me from bein’ proud!”

“Ya really mean it, aniki?” Mondo hugged Daiya tight, and he could feel the tears he’d been fighting so hard to hold back against his eyes. 

“Of course I mean it, little bro!” 

Mondo couldn’t hold in his tears anymore, and they burst from him, as he heaved sobs into Daiya’s chest as he clung desperately to him. “I’m sorry,” he heaved. “I know it ain’t manly to cry like this. I’ve been tryin’ hard not to-”

“Nah, you’ve gotta stop sayin’ that.” Daiya released Mondo and gestured to the room. “That shit is clearly not healthy.”

“You’re the one who always said that men gotta be strong, aniki.” Mondo wiped his eyes furiously, sitting down on his bed. “We’ve gotta hold it together for everyone around us, and emotions would just show people we’re weak-”

“-I was wrong.” It was Daiya’s turn to hang his head in shame, as he began to blink back tears. “Seein’ you like this, because of that tough guy shit I said… I can’t believe I did this to ya. Ya have all yer friends out there just dyin’ to help ya, and you shut ‘em out. I-I never meant this, but of course you’d take it like this.” Daiya clutched at the robes he was wearing, and let a single tear run down his cheek before he took a deep breath and wiped it away. He sat down next to Mondo on the unmade bed. “Here, you're gonna take a shower because ya reek, and change, and we’re gonna clean up yer room. No arguing.”

Mondo managed a small smile. “This comin’ from the guy who's wearing those chick’s robes.” 

“Yer lucky I’m a spirit, little bro.” Daiya lightly punched his bro’s arm as he got up and shut the bathroom door. Mondo quickly showered, wanting to get back to Daiya as quickly as possible, he had no idea how long this channeling thing was supposed to last. He threw on a clean pair of his usual clothes, and tied back the hair that was normally up in his pompadour into a quick ponytail. He stopped briefly, and marveled at the improvement a shower could bring, his hair was no longer greasy, and the remnants of eyeliner were finally gone from his face. 

“Lookin’ good, bro! You coulda styled yer hair a bit more, though.” 

“Says you. Yer hair ain’t even yours anymore.”

Daiya ran his hands through his long hair. “It is pretty weird, havin’ so much long hair. It’s gettin’ in my face and everything.” He began to pick up the dirty plates and utensils off of Mondo’s floor and stacked them in the corner. Mondo began to adjust the sheets on his bed, as Daiya moved and picked up a photo on Mondo’s nightstand. It was a photo of Mondo with Taka and Chihiro on a picnic, all three giving big grins to the camera. “Yer friends really do care about you, huh? Yer lucky to have friends like them. I’m glad that they’ll be here for you.”

Mondo took the picture from Daiya and smiled fondly, before his face fell again. “I totally froze them out, aniki. I wouldn’t let ‘em in, or even talk to them.” Mondo’s shoulders slumped with shame. “I even made Taka cry, and we swore to each other we’d always be there for one another, and when he tried to support me, I wouldn’t even let him.”

“If they’re good enough friends to go along with a plan to summon me from the dead or whatever, I’m sure they can forgive ya. They care about ya, and that’s what’s important. It’s kinda like how I’ll always be watchin’ over ya, but they’re actually here. I even remember you talkin’ about that Taka guy to me all the damn time.” Daiya grinned as Mondo’s face turned pink, and he scowled. 

“I talk about all my friends like that!”

“Mhm, sure.” Daiya’s eyes lit up, and he shot his brother a shit-eating grin. “I could give you some brotherly advice right now, but I can’t say goin’ after a dude would be the same as dating a chick, but you already struck out 10 times there. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“You’re never gonna let that go, are ya?” Mondo rolled his eyes, and Daiya laughed and shook his head. “This is nice, ya know. I really wish you could be back, like forever.” Mondo pulled Daiya into another hug. “I just don’t want to fuckin spiral again after you leave.”

Daiya’s smile stayed on his face, but his expression grew more thoughtful. He pulled Mondo into another hug, and began to talk in a low, but gentle voice. “Mondo, little bro, I’m not gonna be able to be here for ya anymore. I know that ya will be able to get through this, because you’re strong, and you’ve got some real good friends that’ll look after you if you just let ‘em in a little. Not to mention, you’ve got the whole gang at your beck and call forever! You’ll always be the leader!”

“Aniki,” Mondo cut in, his voice growing soft, almost hesitant. “I’m not even sure if I want to lead the gang anymore. I kinda want to be a carpenter. Me an’ Taka have talked about movin’ in together after high school and I’d try and pursue carpentry! I’ve already started to whittle some stuff, and he’s been real supportive. I-I just don’t want to abandon the gang ya worked so hard to start.”

Daiya released Mondo from the hug, and instead placed his hands on Mondo’s shoulders. “All I want is for my little bro to be happy. The gang is important, but you’re way more important, little bro. If bein’ a carpenter is what is gonna make you happy, then I support it, so you better go for it!”

Mondo smiled again, and wrapped Daiya in a hug so fierce that he was lifted off the ground. Daiya whooped and laughed, affectionately mussing Mondo’s hair. 

“Can we come in?” A voice piped up from outside the door. “It’s been like hours, dude!” 

“It’s only been two hours, Leon.” Kyoko’s deadpan voice silenced Leon’s complaints. 

Mondo smiled at Daiya as he opened the door to Kyoko shaking her head at Leon, while the rest of the group stood watching the two. “Mondo!” Chihiro exclaimed, and soon, the whole group tentatively approached Mondo. 

“Mondo,” Daiya placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve gotta go now, but make sure ya stick with these guys, they really do care.” He grinned at the other ultimates, who all grinned (Kyoko merely nodded, and Taka offered a salute) back at Daiya. “I love ya, little bro.” 

“I love ya, too.” Mondo blinked back tears as Daiya’s eyes closed and his features faded away, revealing the features of a girl not much older than him. She was much more suited to the clothes than Daiya was, with an average built and almost mousy appearance. She looked almost tired, and she wearily slumped against the wall; Hiro quickly went to her side, and propped her up under his arm. 

“Kyoudai!” Taka ran to Mondo and placed his hands on his shoulders forcefully. “Please, tell me that helped you! If it did not, Yasuhiro will face full consequences-”

“-It helped, bro. I needed that… thank ya all. Especially ya two.” He turned to look at Hiro and Maya. “Ya helped me do something that I’d have never believed I could do… I never thought I’d see him again… I thought he blamed me...” Mondo let his tears flow this time, and turned towards Taka and wrapped him in a tight embrace that threw the prefect off guard. “I’m sorry I avoided ya all, that was shitty of me… especially you, kyoudai. I shoulda just let ya in-”

“-Please, do not apologize!” Taka cried, having gotten over his shock and fiercely embracing his kyoudai. “You experienced a traumatic event, and I was undoubtedly bothering you with my incessant pestering!”

“You were never botherin’ me! You could never bother me! You’re my kyoudai! I-I just didn’t want ya to see me all sad like this, because I thought ya would think less of me, but I know that was stupid now.”

“I would never think less of you!” Tears began to slip down Taka’s cheeks. “You are my kyoudai, and our souls are bonded! I could never think anything less than the best of you!” Mondo merely held onto Taka even tighter, as the two cried into each other’s shoulders. 

“Uh, should we leave you guys alone?” Hiro’s voice brought the two down to Earth, and they rapidly split apart, drying their eyes. 

“Nah, I’m glad ya all are here. Thank ya all for doin’ this for me.” Chihiro, unable to contain himself anymore, ran up and hugged Mondo, with Leon hot on his heels, rushing to join. “Nice to see ya guys too,” Mondo laughed as he wrapped his arms around both of them. 

“It is nice to see you looking better, Oowada.” Kyoko gave him a hint of a smile. Mondo nodded back awkwardly, not quite knowing what to say to Kyoko, as they weren’t terribly close, despite being on good terms with one another. 

From next to her, Makoto and Sayaka smiled at Mondo. “I’m so happy to see you better! I know that it’ll still be rough, but I just hope you’ll let us help you!” The former piped up, with the latter nodding with her same polite, yet sincere smile.

Mondo smiled back. “ ‘Course I will.” He then turned to the girl and Hiro. “I owe ya,” He said to her. “Ya came here without knowin’ me, or even Hiro and Leon, I mean we coulda all been murderers or somethin’, yet ya helped me anyway. Yer a real good person, uh…”

“Maya!” The girl smiled and stuck out her hand, which Mondo politely shook. “I’m glad to help.” Her face grew slightly more serious, but she maintained her cheerful demeanor. “I know what it’s like to lose a sibling, I still think about my sister all the time! Once Hiro told me about that, I had to help! Well, that, and he’s a fellow spiritualist! He has great clairvoyant powers!”

Mondo blinked with disbelief, Hiro finally found someone who actually wholeheartedly believed in his powers. To be fair, this whole thing had been Hiro’s idea, maybe he was more intuitive than he let on. Mondo looked over at Hiro, who was grinning at Maya’s endorsement of his supposed powers of clairvoyance, while Leon was suppressing a smirk. “Seriously, dude. I know we like to make fun of ya because of your shitty prediction rate-”

“-Hey!” Hiro glared. “This better be a compliment!”

“I was gettin’ to that! I was gonna say that ya may be weird, but ya really look out for us with stuff like this. And… you get it right sometimes. Thanks, dude.” 

“Heck yeah, dude!” Leon punched Hiro’s arm affectionately. “You’re kinda like our weird older brother. Y’know, for the whole class!” Makoto and Chihiro nodded in agreement, with Kyoko looking slightly bemused. 

Hiro beamed and stood up straight. “I’ll graciously accept your compliments, dudes! At least you finally admit I’ve got some real talent!” 

“Don’t let it get to your head.” Mondo rolled his eyes, and even Taka cracked a smile. Mondo snapped his fingers and ran to a drawer. “I’ve been tryin’ some carpentry stuff, and it isn’t great, but ya guys deserve these at least, as thanks.” He pulled out two little wooden figurines, both crudely carved, but clearly care had been put into making them. “I won’t take no for an answer.” He said as he gave the first figurine to Maya, and the second to Hiro. 

Maya’s figurine was of a rabbit with a bow on her left ear, and a flower on her right ear. Hiro’s was of a bear, half of the bear being cutesy, and the other half being much more dark and sinister. Both Hiro and Maya admired their gifts, and the others looked over at the figurines. 

“Oh!” Chihiro perked up. “These are from that new show, _Warriors of Hope and Despair_! The rabbit is the hopeful Usami, and the bear is the evil Monokuma! You, Leon, and I watch that all the time! These are so adorable!” He gazed at Maya’s figurine longingly. “You’ve gotta make one for me!”

“Ya got it, kid.”

“Your carpentry is already coming along quite nicely, kyoudai!” Taka beamed at Mondo, which caused Mondo’s face to turn pink. “Your talent is already quite apparent!” 

“Thank you, this is so cute!” Maya grinned and clutched the figurine to her chest. “Now I’ve gotta start watching this show, after _Steel Samurai_ of course!” 

“Hey, Mondo! You’re out of your room, yay!” Hina was bounding down the hallway to the group, with Sakura right behind her. Both girls were carrying white boxes, which upon closer inspection were revealed to be donut boxes. “We were gonna offer to share some donuts with you, and… uh… who’s she?” Hina gestured towards Maya. 

“I’m Maya, and I’m a spirit medium!” Maya stood greedily close to the box of donuts in Sakura’s hands. “Can I have one of those? I’m already starving!” 

“Man, you just ate!” Leon groaned. “I bought you a burger and fries like two hours ago!”

“Yeah, two hours ago!”

“Two hours ago?! That’s such a long time!” Hina gasped incredulously. “Leon, how dare you try to get in the way of a girl and her appetite!” Hina nodded to Sakura, who wordlessly opened the box, and Maya quickly grabbed a donut and began to shovel it down. 

“Mondo,” Sakura said, a calm yet relieved expression on her face. “I’m glad you are finally out and about again. Your pain was worrying Hina and I. She thought donuts would help you. I personally suggested a day at the gym.” Sakura handed Mondo the box of donuts. 

“The gym sounds kinda nice, actually. Uh, thanks.” Mondo took the box, and instead offered it to Maya. “I, uh, don’t really feel like eatin’ right now, and ya deserve these more than me. Ya helped me see my brother, and I can’t do anythin’ big enough to pay that back.” Maya smiled and took the donut box, licking her lips hungrily. 

“Wait, what?” Hina raised an eyebrow. “Your brother? But-”

“-I’ll tell ya guys later. It’s kinda a long story, and it’s curfew. We’ve gotta get Maya outside before they lock the gates.” 

“We could use your height in hiding Maya this time, Sakura. Actually, we could use your help too, Mondo.” Makoto stated. “We’ve got to go.”

Sakura nodded and joined the group. Hina rushed over as well, determined to help, despite not knowing what was going on. Everyone could already tell that she’d liked Maya from the moment she’d demanded a donut. The new group moved to get Maya outside the school, Hiro stumbled immediately and almost knocked over Taka causing Leon to laugh, Sayaka rolled her eyes at the three but was suppressing a giggle, Chihiro was showing Hina the data he’d put into Alter Ego about Maya with Maya herself looking curiously at the AI, Sakura gently reminded them that now wasn’t the time, and Makoto and Kyoko were the only one really planning their next move ahead. Mondo couldn’t help but laugh. He’d missed this. 

******************************************************************************

Maya Fey waved goodbye to the ultimates as she walked outside the gate, still clutching her Usami figurine and the box of donuts. It was nearly their curfew, and they left shortly after making sure she’d made it out. It was so fun to talk to them, she and Hina had bonded quickly in the few minutes they’d spent together over food, she'd freaked out once she realized Sayaka was indeed Sayaka Maizono the pop sensation that she'd caught Nick listening to on multiple occasions, and Mondo had once again offered his thanks and offered the protection of his gang, the Crazy Diamonds anytime she needed it. She’d declined in the moment, not to sure Nick would want a motorcycle gang riding around their office. She’d talked to Kyoko about how she was beginning to get her foot in the door at Criminal Affairs, and she’d mentioned that she thought Makoto would be a good fit for Wright and Co. Maya saw Kyoko’s eyes glimmer as she said that, and she knew she’d have to bug her about that later, but she’d settled for a knowing grin that the monotone detective had pretended not to notice. Hiro had a sudden premonition that they’d meet again, and Maya felt that it was true, and she couldn’t wait. Sayaka had even said she'd felt the same intuition, and said it was because she was psychic, after all, and Maya was delighted, despite Sayaka trying to tell her she'd been joking. A pop star and a psychic! All the people she’d met tonight were all their own special kind of odd, yet she felt oddly at home with them. Maybe she was just used to being around oddballs because she hung around Nick all the time. 

She couldn’t wait to tell Nick and Pearls about everyone she’d met, knowing he’d be utterly shocked, and little Pearly would be thrilled to know that she’d channeled someone successfully. She toyed with the Usami figurine in her left hand, already thinking about a place for it over Nick’s desk. She also had some donuts she could bring to them, but she’d have to resist the urge to scarf them all down on the bus ride home. She could do it, she thought, reaching into the box for another donut. She scarfed down the sugary goodness in a heartbeat and found herself reaching for another. This was going to be harder than she thought. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was exhausting to write. The pre-cursor events are now out of the way, up next is the turnabout! Hope you guys are ready for a murder mystery! I'm honestly so excited!

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 will be split between Maya and Mondo's POV! Tags will be updated to add him when the chapter goes up, but I didn't want to spam tags when he isn't in story. Fun fact, this idea is what inspired me to start brainstorming this whole series! I also hope you guys caught what Hiro's tarot cards are referencing for Maya involving Bridge to Turnabout! Hope this was a fun read, I liked writing it!


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